Editing Mark Abene

{{Short description|American InfoSec expert and former hacker (born 1972)}}
{{More footnotes|date=September 2015}}
{{COI|date=February 2018}} 
{{Infobox person
| name               = Mark Abene
| image              = MarkAbene1.jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = Abene in July 2018
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1972|02|23}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| other_names        = Phiber Optik
| known_for          = [[hacker (computer security)|Hacking]], [[phreaking]], [[infosec]]
| occupation         = [[Infosec]] expert, [[programmer]], [[cryptographer]], [[entrepreneur]]
| nationality        = [[Americans|American]]
}}

'''Mark Abene''' (born February 23, 1972) is an American [[information security]] expert and entrepreneur, originally from New York City. Better known by his [[pseudonym]] '''Phiber Optik''', he was once a member of the [[hacker groups]] [[Legion of Doom (hacking)|Legion of Doom]] and [[Masters of Deception]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Exposing the hidden history of computer hacking |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28214646 |work=BBC News |date=27 October 2014}}</ref>

Phiber Optik was a high-profile [[Hacker (computer security)|hacker]] in the 1980s and early 1990s, appearing in ''The New York Times'', ''Harper's'', ''Esquire'', and in debates and on television. He is an important figure in the 1995 nonfiction book ''Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace'' ({{ISBN|978-0-06-092694-6}}).

==Early life==
Abene's first contact with computers was at around 9 years of age at a local department store, where he would often pass the time while his parents shopped. His first computer was a [[TRS-80 MC-10]] with 4 [[kilobyte]]s of [[Random-access memory|RAM]], a 32-column screen, no lower [[computer case|case]], and a [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] [[tape recorder]] to load and save programs. As was customary at the time, the computer connected to a television set for use as a [[computer monitor|monitor]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mills |first=Elinor |title=Q&A: Mark Abene, from 'Phiber Optik' to security guru |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/q-a-mark-abene-from-phiber-optik-to-security-guru/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> 

After receiving the gifts of a RAM upgrade (to 20K) and a 300 [[baud]] [[modem]] from his parents, he used his computer to access [[CompuServe]] and shortly after discovered the world of dialup [[Bulletin Board System|BBSes]] via people he met on CompuServe's "[[CB simulator]]", the first nationwide online chat. On some of these BBSes, Abene discovered dialups and guest accounts to [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[minicomputer]]s running the [[RSTS/E]] and [[TOPS-10]] [[operating system]]s as part of the [[BOCES]] educational program in Long Island, New York. Accessing those DEC minicomputers he realized there was a programming environment that was much more powerful than that of his own home computer, and so he began taking books out of the library in order to learn the programming languages that were now available to him. This and the ability to remotely save and load back programs that would still be there the next time he logged in had a profound effect on Abene, who came to view his rather simple computer as a window into a much larger world.<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10270582-83.html Q&A: Mark Abene, from 'Phiber Optik' to security guru] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805181115/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10270582-83.html |date=2009-08-05 }}, cnet.com; accessed February 8, 2018.</ref>
==Legal tribulations==
On January 24, 1990, Abene and other MOD members had their homes searched and property seized by the [[U.S. Secret Service]], largely based on government suspicions of having caused [[AT&T Corporation]]'s network crash just over a week earlier on January 15 (Abene was personally accused by the Secret Service of having done as much, during the search and seizure). Some weeks later, AT&T admitted that the crash was the result of a flawed software update to the switching systems on their long-distance network, thus, human error on their part.<ref>[http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/att_collapse.html All Circuits are Busy Now: The 1990 AT&T Long Distance Network Collapse]</ref> In February 1991, Abene was arrested and charged with computer tampering and computer trespass in the first degree, New York state offenses. Laws at the time were considered a “gray area” concerning information security. Abene, who was a minor at the time, pleaded "not guilty" to the first two offenses and ultimately accepted a plea agreement to a lesser misdemeanor charge, and was sentenced to 35 hours of community service.<ref name="Newsbytes">Newsbytes</ref>

Abene and four other members of the Masters of Deception were also arrested in December 1991 and indicted by a Manhattan federal grand jury on July 8, 1992, on an 11-count charge. The indictment relied heavily on evidence collected by court-approved wire tapping of telephone conversations between MOD members. According to U.S. Attorney [[Otto G. Obermaier|Otto Obermaier]],<ref name="Newsbytes"/> it was the "first investigative use of court-authorized wiretaps to obtain conversations and data transmissions of computer hackers" in the United States.

After serving the one-year sentence at the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill|Federal Prison Camp in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania]], Abene was released in November 1994. In January 1995, a huge celebration called "Phiberphest '95" was held in his honor at Manhattan's [[Irving Plaza]] ballroom/nightclub. In ''Time'', Joshua Quittner called him "the first underground hero of the Information Age, the Robin Hood of cyberspace."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071013173246/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982254,00.html Hacker Homecoming]</ref> Upon leaving jail, Phiber Optik made the [[@Cafe]] his hang out spot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWssRVJgPqc&t=365|title=The hippest internet cafe of 1995 - YouTube|work=[[YouTube]]|date=2016-08-24|accessdate=2017-03-05}}</ref>

==Social protests==
A statement made by U.S. Attorney Otto Obermeier in conjunction with the indication was "The message that ought to be delivered with this indictment is that such conduct will not be tolerated, irrespective of the age of the particular accused or their ostensible purpose,"<ref>Newsbytes, 1992</ref> was interpreted by Abene's supporters to mean that MOD was made an example of, to show that the authorities could handle the perceived "hacker threat". During sentencing, Judge Stanton said that "the defendant stands as a symbol here today," and that "hacking crimes constitute a real threat to the expanding [[information highway]]", reinforcing the view that a relatively harmless "teacher" was judged as a symbol for all hackers.<ref>Dibbel, 1994 and Goldstein, 1993, 2001</ref>
<!--NO FILENAME {{Listen|filename=|title=Mark Abene post-trial interview|description=This clip is from a recording from the November 10, 1993, edition of the radio program [[Off the Hook (radio program)|Off the Hook]]. Emmanuel Goldstein (Eric Corley) and Phiber Optik (Mark Abene) express their concerns over the recent sentencing hearing.|format=[[Ogg]]}}-->

==Professional life==
Abene has spoken on the subject of security in many publications such as ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', and ''Time''. He has appeared as a speaker at both hacker and security industry conferences worldwide and frequently visits universities to speak to students about information security.<ref>[http://vimeo.com/6578941 "The Rise & Fall of Information Security in the Western World" (2007)], vimeo.com; accessed February 8, 2018.</ref>

Abene made his acting début as "The Inside Man" in the fiction film ''[[Urchin (film)|Urchin]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.urchinthemovie.com/ |title=Urchin - the official website of the movie |access-date=2020-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629000247/http://www.urchinthemovie.com/ |archive-date=2007-06-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> completed in 2006 and released in the US in February 2007, in which other hacker notables such as [[Dave Buchwald]] and [[Eric Corley|Emmanuel Goldstein]] can be seen.

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* [http://vimeo.com/6578941 "The Rise and Fall of Information Security in the Western World"]. Speech by Mark Abene, ''Hack in the Box'' security conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007.
* [http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10270582-83.html "Mark Abene, from 'Phiber Optik' to security guru"]. CNET Q&A. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805181115/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10270582-83.html |date=2009-08-05 }}
* [http://www.nysia.com/events/calendar_disp.cfm?me_id=94 event]. New York Software Industry Association. 
* [[Eric Corley|Goldstein, Emmanuel]] (2001). [[Freedom Downtime]], opening sequence.
* Savage, Annaliza (September 1995). Notes from the underground — Phiber Optik goes directly to jail. ''.net'' Issue 10.
* [[Joshua Quittner|Quittner, Joshua]] (January 23, 1995). [https://web.archive.org/web/20041027141102/http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Outlaws/PhiberOptikReturns.html Hacker Homecoming]. ''Time''.
* Dibbell, Julian (January 12, 1994). [http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/phiber.html Prisoner: Phiber Optik Goes Directly to Jail]. ''The Village Voice''
* [[Bruce Sterling|Sterling, Bruce]] (January 1994). ''[[The Hacker Crackdown]] — Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040805014307/http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/etext94/hack12.txt]. From Project Gutenberg.
* [[Eric Corley|Goldstein, Emmanuel]] (November 10, 1993). [http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1993/1193.html "Interview with Phiber Optik"]. ''Off the Hook'' radio show.
* Electronic Frontier Foundation (July 9, 1992). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104802/http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Phiber_Optik/nyc_indictments.announce Federal hacking indictments issued against five in New York City]. Retrieved September 4, 2004
* Newsbytes (July 9, 1992). [http://www.textfiles.com/news/modbust.txt New York Computer Crime Indictments]. Retrieved September 11, 2004.
* Grand jury, United States District Court Southern District of New York (1992). Indictment of Julio Fernandez, John Lee, Mark Abene, Elias Ladopoulos, Paul Stira. ([http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/CUD/cud0431.txt Copy from Computer underground Digest, 4:31]).
* [http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/att_collapse.html] "All Circuits are Busy Now: The 1990 AT&T Long Distance Network Collapse"].

==External links==
* The History of MOD
** [http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/modbook1.txt modbook1.txt] — ''"The History of MOD: Book One: The Originals"''
** [http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/modbook2.txt modbook2.txt] — ''"The History of MOD: Book Two: Creative Mindz"''
** [http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/modbook3.txt modbook3.txt] — ''"The Book of MOD: Part Three: A Kick in the Groin"''
** [http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/modbook4.txt modbook4.txt] — ''"The Book of MOD: Part Four: End of '90-'1991"''
** [http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/modbook5.txt modbook5.txt] — ''"The Book of MOD: Part 5: Who are They And Where Did They Come From? (Summer 1991)"''
* [https://www.wired.com/1994/04/phiber-optik-goes-to-prison/ Phiber Optik Goes to Prison] — Article in ''Wired'' by Julian Dibbell
* ''Off the Hook'' shows (available as [[MP3]] files)
** 1991-03-13, "Phiber Optik's" first appearance on the show. [http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1991/0391.html].
** 1993-11-03, announcement of Mark Abene's sentence. No recording exists. [http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1993/1193.html].
** 1993-11-10, the first show following the sentencing, Phiber Optik in the studio. [http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1993/1193.html].
** 1994-01-05, last show before Phiber Optik's going to prison. [http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1994/0194.html].

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{{Hacking in the 1990s}}

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<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Hackers]]
[[Category:Computer security specialists]]
[[Category:Legion of Doom (hacker group)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Masters of Deception]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:Phreaking]]